THUNDER BAY, Ontario, Aug. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. ("Zenyatta" or the "Company")
(TSXV: ZEN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Francis Dubé and Mr. Donald Bubar as Co-CEOs on an interim
basis to lead the Company through the current transition period. Both will report directly to the Board of Directors and work
closely with senior management responsible for operations led by Vice President, Peter Wood, P.Eng., P.Geo.
Dr. Francis Dubé lead the successful proxy battle that saw the incumbent board of directors removed in favour of
the dissident board on May 11th 2018. Since then, Dr. Dubé has brought together a strong, diversified Board of
Directors and management team. He will build on his role as Head of Market Development and Technology by working with the
management team to build business relationships with end users and other participants in the graphene/nano-materials market.
Dr. Dubé will also act as Interim Chairman of the Board, a role he has played since the departure of former Chairman, Mr. Brett
Richards.
Zenyatta is also pleased to have Mr. Donald Bubar, P.Geo. and a Director of Zenyatta agree to take on the role
of Co-CEO with responsibility for corporate administration and investor communications. Mr. Bubar is an industry veteran bringing
over 40 years of mineral exploration and development experience to the Zenyatta team. As CEO of Avalon Advanced Materials
Inc., Mr. Bubar has over 20 years of experience in developing specialty materials resources with emerging markets in clean
technology similar to the Albany Graphite Project. He also has a reputation for making environmental and social responsibility a
high priority in any mineral resource development project. Mr. Bubar will work closely with Dr. Dube to re-build the company’s
relationship with the capital markets.
The Company also announces that it has made a grant of stock options under its stock option plan to certain of
its directors and officers to acquire a total of 900,000 common shares of the Company. In addition, the Company has granted options
to acquire an aggregate of 400,000 common shares of the Company to certain non-executive employees and consultants. All of the
options are exercisable at a price of $0.53 per share. One-third of the options vested on the date of their grant, one third of the
options will vest six months following the date of grant and the balance will vest on the one year anniversary of the date of
grant. The options have a term of five (5) years and are subject in all respects to the terms of the Company’s stock option plan
and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.
About Zenyatta
Zenyatta’s Albany Graphite Project hosts a large and unique quality deposit of highly crystalline graphite. Independent labs
in Japan, UK, Israel, USA and Canada have demonstrated that Zenyatta’s Albany GraphiteTM easily converts (exfoliates) to
graphene using a variety of simple mechanical and chemical methods. The deposit is located in northern Ontario just 30km north of
the Trans-Canada Highway, near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst. Important nearby infrastructure
include hydro-power, natural gas pipeline, a rail line 50 km away and an all-weather road just 10 km from the deposit.
For further information:
Dr. Francis Dubé
Tel: +1 (289) 821-2820
Email: fdube@zenyatta.ca
To find out more on Zenyatta Ventures Ltd., please visit our website at www.zenyatta.ca. A copy of this press
release and all material documents with respect of the Company may be obtained on Zenyatta’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.ca.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: The Company has completed a July 9, 2015 Preliminary Economic Assessment which indicates
an open pit mine life of 22 years (excludes underground resource which is open at depth) producing 30,000 tonnes purified graphite
per annum (see Zenyatta press release of 1 June 2015). The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral
resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable
them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be
realized. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward
looking information and Zenyatta cautions readers that forward looking information is based on certain assumptions and risk factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations of Zenyatta included in this news release. This news
release includes certain "forward-looking statements”, which often, but not always, can be identified by the use of words such
as "potential", "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". These
statements are based on information currently available to Zenyatta and Zenyatta provides no assurance that actual results will
meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements with respect to Zenyatta’s future
plans, objectives or goals, to the effect that Zenyatta or management expects a stated condition or result to occur, including the
expected timing for release of a pre-feasibility study, the expected uses for graphite or graphene in the future, and the future
uses of the graphite from Zenyatta’s Albany deposit. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future
events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other
things, results of metallurgical processing, ongoing exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of Zenyatta’s
mineral properties, and Zenyatta’s financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in
such statements for many reasons such as, but are not limited to: failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves; the
preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; the inability to identify target markets and satisfy the product criteria for
such markets; the inability to complete a prefeasibility study; the inability to enter into offtake agreements with qualified
purchasers; delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals; political
risks; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; changes in equity markets,
inflation, changes in exchange rates; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects; capital and
operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development
industry; and those risks set out in Zenyatta’s public documents filed on SEDAR. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that
may affect any of Zenyatta’s forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should
not place undue reliance on Zenyatta’s forward-looking statements. Although Zenyatta believes that the assumptions and factors used
in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such
information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in
the disclosed time frames or at all. Zenyatta disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.